PAPSS

PAPSS stands for the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, a cross-border payments and settlement platform intended to facilitate real-time or near real-time financial transactions across Africa. The system is designed to enable payments to be initiated in one country and settled in another in local currencies, through a shared interbank infrastructure that connects participating banks and payment service providers.

Operating on a centralized or hub-and-spoke model, PAPSS links banks and financial institutions to a common settlement framework. Payments are typically issued by a participant bank in one country and routed through the PAPSS infrastructure, with settlement carried out through central bank or other agreed settlement accounts. The platform emphasizes interoperability, standardized messaging, and interoperability with existing domestic payment systems to support cross-border transactions without reliance on a single foreign currency.

Aims and scope of PAPSS include reducing the time, cost, and settlement risk associated with cross-border payments, improving liquidity for banks, and promoting intra-African trade by enabling settlements in local currencies. By enabling more efficient cross-border transactions, the system is intended to help diversify away from traditional dependence on external currencies and to integrate regional financial markets more closely.

Development and governance are led by Afreximbank in collaboration with participating central banks and regional financial stakeholders. Since its inception, PAPSS has undergone phased pilots and nationwide rollouts in various African countries, with ongoing expansion planned to broaden participation and coverage.

Impact and challenges noted in discussions around PAPSS include regulatory harmonization across jurisdictions, liquidity management, cybersecurity and fraud prevention, integration with diverse domestic payment infrastructures, and sustaining long-term operational coordination among multiple regulators and banks. See also: intra-African trade, regional integration, cross-border payments.